BOMB THREAT on British Aircraft & Terminal Building | Stuck for 1 HOUR! 

That one hour must have been long for those pilots, cabin crew and passengers...

Man could have ordered stairs from Amazon faster…

Captain: MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, request takeoff clearance and radar vector to the nearest airport, we're gonna evacuate there, since it's FASTER

They lost 3 passengers and 1 crew to natural causes due to old age.

speedbird 18b, it looks like you've exploded, the stairs will arrive in 20 minutes.

Bomb ”I will stand by for further information as well. ”

You can really hear him livid mad and trying to stay calm.

Excellent decision by the Captain to call May Day when he wasn't getting the support required. Forced them to assist instead of continuing to delay. Very professionally handled by the BA crew

Sounds like an airport desperately needs to re-evaluate their emergency procedures. The amount of time that airplane had to sit was borderline incompetence

Although ATC has no control over the availability of ramp equipment, how the airport authority took so long to dispatch stairs, irrespective of the situation at the terminal, is mind boggling.

“Where are they coming from, out of interest?” is a classic 😂

Unacceptable that it took that long to get emergency services to the jet.

You can *hear* the professional British eye-rolling in the captain and FO's voices :D

"Urgent need for you to stop your take off due to a bomb threat, now go over there and sit in the corner like a good lad for an hour, while we wait for the bomb to go off."

What a fucking joke. Airlines should reconsider flying to this airport if this is what their emergency response looks like.

Pilot was seriously considering deploying slides and evacuating . He was facing command decision. What a cluster-flip this was.

Notice how the BA pilot told ATC the passengers would be convening under the port wing of the C-17. This is presumably due to the port side being sheltered from the 777 by the C-17 fuselage itself, and under the wing to prevent debris raining down should there be an explosion. Great thinking by the crew!

Well, we all learned something about "island time" in an emergency today..

Legend has it the passengers are still waiting to disembark

Even under a bomb threat, they still operate on Caribbean time!

That's unacceptable from the airport. Any airlines flying there should be seriously considering pausing their routes into that airport until they have a full explanation of what happened and assurances that future emergency responses will be handled more professionally. If the threat had been real, that could have been catastrophic.

The British Airways crew handled that so incredibly well. Remained calm at all times and also looking ahead. Wow!

I have to say, I'm amazed the captain didn't deploy chutes much earlier (unless this sort of things happens regularly, and they are always false alarms). He was repeatedly told "on their way" with the stairs when they were clearly not on their way - and in that situation this is totally unforgivable. I think especially with it being a UK plane (or if it had been a US one) the threats need to be treated very, very seriously due to the history of terror attacks against those nations .. so yeah, unforgivable to be giving out "on our way" messages when that wasn't the case. Not blaming Tower here if they were just passing on messages, but still, someone, somewhere needs to change job - if the captain had been told initially "it'll take 45 minutes to get you some stairs" I'm sure he would have evaculated immediately.

"Cancel takeoff, you might be sitting on a bomb... standby one (hour)" 😮

Using slides (I see this being asked a lot) is inherently a high risk option. You’ll note the captain requesting ambulances for this eventuality. Friction burns, broken bones, and head injuries are common. Also the risk of crush injuries or someone pushed off the slide. It’s very much a last resort.

In Island = "They are on their way" = "They haven't picked up the phone / They have other tasks before you" In Island = "10 minutes" = "35 minutes"

57 minutes. Un-fucking-believable. Absolutely spot on from the pilot for keeping the pressure on ATC to assist.

This was painful to watch. The airport was like "You, too, have a bomb over there? Well that fckn SUCKS"... wow

That poor controller. You could hear in her voice how frustrated she was that she had to keep telling the pilot “they’re on their way “. Heartbreaking.

Let's just talk about the gaslighting! Constantly lying that they were on their way and then saying ARFF was below the tower, and then, only after pushing further, did she clarify they hadn't even left yet. Maybe its not all on the tower, but people need to start giving exact answers. If she said, stairs are 1hr away, that plane would have been rapid evac'd within 10 minutes.

Missed the chance to use "one eternity later" from SpongeBob

There’s one destination to avoid if their emergency response to a bomb threat is so amateurish. Non-compliant with ICAO requirements and just a circus act. Disgraceful.

"Speedbird 18B, Bermuda Tower, you are on your own, over. Good luck!"

what an absolute cluster. Seems the airport authority has just been collecting a paycheck for years without doing any real contingency planning/drilling.

Always on top of every event, great job VASAviation!

That Captain was awesome. He realizes that if he orders an evacuation via the slides that there WILL be injuries. He pre-orders that ambulances accordingly. He wasn't far from ordering the slide evacuation.

Both BA and ATC deserve kudos. ATC was extremely limitied in what information they could provide since the terminal was amidst an evacuation themselves. The system was stressed and for a resource-thin island like Bermuda, many lessons to be learned here.

IMO the controller handled this well given the circumstances beyond her control - clear communication, didn’t become overwhelmed, good job 🫡

Honestly, I feel for both ATC and the pilots in this one. From what I could tell, at first it looked like one bomb threat, and then it emerged there were two and procedures probably weren't made for that event. ATC (or at least that particular worker) isn't being evacuated but terminal is and probably a lot of the contacts she would regularly need to coordinate with in a situation like that, so she's calling and getting redirected to wherever the secondary contact is set up, while each part of the whole is gradually coming to the realization that there are two threats and that one has to take priority, and I'm guessing the terminal got it. She's doing what she can with what resources she can actually rally in the confusion, with what calm she's able to maintain while she isn't being evacuated when many other departments are. Then the pilots are stuck with what little information trickles their way. They don't know the exact nature of the threat. Are they currently hostages? Is someone negotiating for them? If they start the evacuation, will that inspire the bomber to act and detonate? They have to continue making decisions based on what they know and how much calm they're able to maintain with the passengers. If they evacuate, people are going to get injured, so they would rather wait for the stairs if at all possible, but if panic sets in before that happens, the result will be even worse. If negotiations go on too long (if they're happening), the bomber could also lose patience and detonate just to teach a lesson. The tightrope of "how long should we wait" is razor thin and there's no right answer. The only thing they have to work with is that stairs are coming, so they're probably clear to get the passengers off the plane (otherwise, they wouldn't be sending stairs), and they want that to happen as swiftly and safely as possible. It's terrifying and frustrating and they've got to keep it together because losing their cool just isn't an option. Terrible situation all around, but I don't think ATC holds the blame for it so much as whoever submitted the threats in the first place and the actual airport for not having robust enough procedures and resources to handle it effectively.

If I was BA, I'd be asking some pretty serious questions to the airport management and strongly considering the safety factors of flying into that airport right about now.

Pilot: can we get emergency services? Bugs Bunny ATC: No.

Wow... that was crazy. An hour... good thing there wasn't a bomb, or it was a very patient one. ATC can't control services so I felt sorry for the controller having to give the pilots no good information as that's all she was getting. I'm surprised the pilot didn't pop the slides much earlier, but he was definitely cool but annoyed.

She totally G.R.R Martin'ed him 😂 "The stairs are coming! They are on their way!"

I was cabin crew back in the late ‘70s on 747s, several times after departure from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth if England had just beaten Australia at cricket, rugby or tiddlywinks some muppet would call in a bomb scare on our flight number. Procedure was always a discrete but thorough cabin check, toilets, galley bins and then carry on as normal to our destination, usually Singapore or Columbo if out of Perth. It was routine if a big sport event was on.

Fair play she really did her best, she was just stuck in an awkward situation but great job from her. It was the airport that let her down there really

"have you got stairs in sight" :)

I like the part where the controller explains that the firebrigade is not allowed to approach the aircraft as there is a bomb threat. So many brave people at this airport...

Man what an incredible delay! I understand that a threat against the terminal building diverted a lot of resources, but they didn’t need marshalers and airsteps to evacuate the terminal. Sounds like a lot of confusion over priorities, and attempts to secure the safety of ground personnel at the expense of passengers and flight crew. I do hope BA will be polling every airport they use for their procedures for this kind of thing, that was wholly unacceptable!

Ok I get that you’re evacuating the terminal, likely on a skeleton shift. I get that the emergency crews have to stay back until the aircraft is cleared by bomb squad if that’s their procedure. I get that the tower is dealing with a lot. But is it really that hard a request to get someone to drive a set of steps to the aircraft in less than half an hour?

"Tower, where are the marshallers and the drivers for the stairs?" Bermuda Tower: "Well right now they´re still on the beach....."

Shocking lack of urgency, the whole "Island time" thing really should be nowhere near airport ops

That is a tough call for the crew. Wait for stairs and avoid injuries but risk mass casualties if it is a real threat (often these seem to be not) - or evacuate now via slides with injuries, aircraft disabled but avoid mass casualties.

"Speedbird 18B, while your waiting we are showing a documentary on TWA800 on the Airport Wifi if you and the passengers are interested ..."

I'm really surprised that captain didn't order emergency evac via slides. You can hear his growing concern for everyone on the plane.

That must’ve been a long hour for those pilots, knowing that if the threat was credible it could have happened at anytime. Kudos to them for staying so calm

Imagine being an airstairs driver: "We need you to drive the stairs up to the aircraft with a bomb threat. Bob won't do it, and ARFF's safety procedures don't allow them to approach." Was BAW18B on their own from the start?

I wonder what would authorities say to the newspapers if the plane actually exploded after 50 minutes of waiting

You can have the best evacuation plan on paper and training, but it's hard to convince people to approach an aircraft with a possible bomb inside of it in the real world...they were probably playing rock paper scissors to decide who would be the brave souls to approach the aircraft

The Bomb squad were working Part-time as Lifeguards. Sadly, the Stairs team were using the Stairs as Shark Lookout ramp

I highly commend the pilot for being insistent, taking control , and showing concern for his passengers. Emergency procedures have to be evaluated at this location. Also training.

Wow! Talk about running on island time! What a cluster...

An email bomb threat is just lazy. What's this world come to.

Funnily enough, I've had a nightmare dealing with our Bermuda office at work for being so slow and unresponsive. Looks like it's a common theme over there. 😂

Very professional response from BA in what must have been an incredibly stressful situation. I appreciate stressful for ATC and she was trying to do her best too. However I don’t think I would want to use this airport, it didn’t sound rehearsed in responding to emergency situations. If it was believed the terminal threat was more credible than the aircraft , so that staying onboard was safer than evacuating, that should have been communicated.

What does IACO specify for airline operations? I know the USA's FAA has very specific requirements for ARFF and response times. 1 hour to respond to a bomb threat is absolutely ridiculous.

Looks like the aircraft invoked is G-VIIN. B772 with 235 pax seats. Did initially wonder why the C-17 was shown on the video.

Apparently in Bermuda they do everything chill, including bomb threats.

While there may be lapses in handling this emergency, the controller has no fault for this because at that point, she's just a messenger who can only relay information to the pilots, she can't do anything else maybe except tell the marshallers, stairs and firemen that the pilots want them to hurry up but if they don't, then the controller can't do anything.

ATC: "I called the fire department and mentioned there might be a bomb on board the aircraft, and they said f#@k that and went home"

Bermuda - a great place to holiday, whether you're a tourist or airport worker!

I think Bermuda needs to have their routines and airport services looked at. UK needs to ship out some professionals to overhaul the operation at their island.

Things never change. Very similar happened in Budapest, aircraft diverted there, informed them half an hour before. They eventually evacuated after the hopeless waiting.

The British Airways crew must of been sitting there thinking what a complete mess the airport is making of this indecent.

First time I've heard a Captain actually sounding nervous on the radio

Interesting predicament, a plane and a terminal. Both together at the same time. I wonder how many airports of that size have that sort of contingent in place. And what staff are available. Knowing some places they wouldn’t have enough staff on a normal day. Anyone know what category TXF is for Fire crews?

1:36 - pilot said what i (a total noob regarding aviation) was thinking. a B could explode at any moment and you're just gonna let the plane hang out and chill on the runway?

I think I know now where all those flights lost in Bermuda Triangle are... they are waiting for stairs.

That's one way to ruin everybody's day.

I don't want to comment on airport operations given how stretched they would have been with the terminal threat as well. But my real question is what on earth were the pilots supposed to say to the passengers during that hour?

But apparently this was the last aircraft out - so about that terminal evacuation - Question, how log does it take to evacuate Cleaners and Light bulb changers from the airport when they want to go home already!

Absolutely a total disgrace. The CAA should consider withdrawing Bermuda's licence to operate immediately. It is simply not up to the task.

Just wow, smh, shout out to the BA Crew

BAW18B "I hope it isn't a time bomb"

We can't blame that lady, but c'mon: 1 HOUR for stairs?! UNACCEPTABLE! If I were the Captain, I would have evacuated everyone as quickly as possible!

Damn... that's horrible - for an email ?~~!! Captain seemed professional and vigilant. This airport? Nope....

If they had imported the stairs via TEMU, they would have arrived faster. What is the problem? A stair is a special truck, the max distance at an airport is 5 KM. Nobody needs a stair truck to evacuate the terminal. Hell, the Bahamas are on my no-fly list now. Just Imagine, You sit in that plane with the bomb threat and have to wait THAT LONG for a simple stairs??? The Captain has balls to plan evacuation via slides

Gob Bluth has the stairs at the casino, he’s heading back now.

This is a very serious situation, but I find it funny and I like that the pilot pretty much said "hurry up or we're evacuating using the slides"

British pilots, the world's finest.

I wonder what "company policy" is for a bomb threat while you're still on the ground. Pilot: Are the stairs coming? Tower: We're busy. We're evacuating the terminal. I'll make a call in a few minutes to find out. Pilot: We're evacuating NOW !

Captain should have evacuated via slides on the runway and billed the airport for the subsequent expenses.

This is just a logistic nightmare. As the time stamp given was 0000Z, or 2100 local (UTC-3 for summer), this was likely one of the last flights-if not the last-for the day. At first, I thought they should've at least had the air stairs out relatively quick, but I forgot about the time and realized there was probably no one at the airport to drive the air stairs. The simultaneous threat to the terminal didn't do any favors as employees would still have to evacuate until the all clear is given. It makes a little more sense why it took forever and a day to assist BAW18B. Not to mention, the airport is also serviced by a single 2 lane causeway. A nice bottleneck to slow down anyone trying to access the terminal. If this happened in the afternoon, I could see room to blame 'Island time'.

That pilot has discretion to pop the emergency slides.

I think people are being a bit unfair to the ATC controller and the Bermuda Airport fire service. Bermuda is a small island and the airport has two terminals. Their are 5 fire truck and 20 police officers. The nearest fire station is about a 30 min drive away so it about approximately 50 people to evacuate a large terminal with thousands of passengers in it. Plus that include ground crew and staff. Now you have to bring some of those ground crew back and have them drive the stair to the plane. Which is about a 10 min drive from the airport. I am not saying a 57 minute wait is responsible but it not like it was cause the emergency crews were sitting idly by or being lazy.

Well done the pilots. I imagine they'd already discussed setting the 60 minute mark as the evacuate threshold. Using slides is something to avoid if you can but when the alternative is you and your passengers explode then the risk/reward calculation levels out somewhat. I can imagine some very angry calls coming from BA to the airport. Regarding those who use the terminal threat as a mitigating factor. I'd say it's irrelevant. The AARF etc should've been at the plane and it fully evacuated before the terminal threat even became a factor. Yes an entire terminal is a higher priority than a single plane but that plane should've become a neutralised concern.

Bravo to crew!

No.... we are not evacuating the pax and having them huddle under our wing which is full of fuel, in case the plane blows up. We are huddling under the wing of the OTHER plane over there!

That's absolutely mind boggling!!

I'm surprised he didn't deploy slides much sooner and I'd love to know what his company policy is on that issue. Please don't comment and tell me that slides are dangerous when the other option is deplaining via bomb blast...

What is obviously not understood here, is that the air stairs are the responsibility of a guy actually named Marshal. He’s also responsible for custodial service in the public washrooms, so talk of bombs or explosions can be taken in different ways. Although, he probably thought he was really in for it as he was driving the stairs to the toilets.